Following sharp criticism more than a month ago of its proposal to build several hundred rental apartments half a mile east of Fremont”s Bay Area Rapid Transit station, developer Carmel Partners presented a scaled-down version of its Walnut Avenue project Tuesday to Fremont City Council.

During a work session in advance of a formal presentation, Greg Christopher, Carmel Partners” vice president of development in Northern California, introduced a new design for Walnut Residences that reduced the number of units by 25 percent, from 882 to 670, and lowered building heights from a maximum of five stories to four.

Despite the modifications, neighborhood residents said the project is still too dense, the buildings are too tall and parking is inadequate.

The 13.7-acre property at 1031 Walnut Ave., which most recently was a farm with cornfields, is bounded by portions of Guardino Drive and Litchfield and Walnut avenues. A 3,100-square-foot house built in 1954 sits on the property, said Bill Roth, Fremont project planner. Carmel Partners would set aside 1.1 acres for the expansion of Guardino Drive and Litchfield Avenue.

In its initial plan, San Francisco-based Carmel Partners proposed three four-story and two five-story structures with 882 apartments, a density of 70 units per acre. The proposal included an underground garage with 1,412 spaces — 1,191 for residents and 221 for guests. Designs call for one- and two-bedroom apartments in 90 percent of the development, with three-bedroom units making up the remainder, Christopher said.

The site”s zoning allows for a range of 50.1 units per acre to 70 units.

The proposal unveiled Tuesday calls for a density of 53 units per acre and increases the parking ratio from 1.5 spaces per unit to 1.7 spaces. Under city code, a range of 1.25 parking spaces per unit up to 1.75 parking spaces per unit is allowed.

At a Sept. 29 Fremont Planning Commission study session, about 30 speakers said the project is wildly out of character with the surrounding neighborhood and called for a density at the low end, perhaps below the minimum for the property”s zoning to around 30 units per acre. They also sought the highest rate of parking spaces, all underground.

On Tuesday, Christopher said Carmel Partners spent the past six weeks incorporating “informative feedback” from the commission and public into a design meant to better conform with the existing community, which meant slashing the number of units by more than 200.

“To be honest, this is a huge hit to the business plan, but we understand this is an appropriate method to take and something we are standing behind with this project,” he said.

One of eight speakers who addressed the council, Pamela Casey, said she has lived in the nearby The Orchards neighborhood for 10 years and felt insulted by Christopher”s comment about the company”s bottom line.

“I was really offended when the developer said he took a big hit in his business plan,” she said. “Have you been on his website? Three billion (dollars) in assets. A big hit is a big hit to us, not to him. He doesn”t live in our neighborhood.”

She suggested a building height limit of three stories and an underground garage with multiple levels and two spaces of parking for each unit to prevent overflow parking onto surrounding streets.

Only representatives of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and SPUR, a nonprofit that advocates for good planning and good government in the Bay Area, spoke in support of the project.

Residents should look at where the project started and where it is now because of their feedback and involvement, Mayor Bill Harrison said.

“I know this project has a little bit ways to go still through the planning commission and back to council,” he said. “But I think this is about where I think it should end.”

Harrison said he personally expressed concerns about the need for reduced building height, density and number of units to the applicant.

Councilman Vinnie Bacon agreed with speakers who said the proposal is still too dense compared to the existing area and that parking is insufficient.

“I think even one-bedroom apartments are going to have two cars,” he said.

No formal decisions or recommendations were made Tuesday on the project, which has yet to appear before the planning commission or council in an official public hearing.